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This chart, provided by Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Inc., tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market. It also tracks facility amounts, ratings, pricing and maturities.

Aegon Spain, which manages E850 million from its Madrid office, will add telecom bonds once the companies are upgraded to single-A or above. Enrique Marazuela, portfolio manager, says next year he will start to buy bonds that he has not touched this year, because their credit fundamentals are starting to improve and companies are working themselves out of the third-generation telephony licensing fiascos. He expects to see upgrades in the sector. He says he will buy the incumbents such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and KPN once they are upgraded to single-A, because they represent good value. He expects upgrades to come gradually as these telecoms begin to de-lever. Aegon cannot own bonds rated lower than single-A.

Credit derivatives houses are waiting for the outcome of the U.K. government's restructuring plans for British Energy before triggering credit protection. One credit derivatives trader, however, said lawyers at his firm are examining triggering swaps under a bankruptcy clause, claiming that it has taken "action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to" bankruptcy.

Hollywood Entertainment's solid market share of the video retailing industry provides support to the new $250 million credit facility, despite the company's subordinate ranking to industry-giant Blockbuster. Hollywood controls 11% of the market share, compared to Blockbuster's 40% share. But, "The rest of the market is pretty fragmented," said Diane Shand, Standard & Poor's analyst. The rating agency has assigned a BB- rating to the credit.

C-Bass V, an asset-backed securities collateralized debt obligation originated by C-Bass, a mortgage investment and servicing company specializing in credit sensitive residential mortgage-backed securities, is expected to close this week. Deutsche Bank is the lead underwriter for this $350 million transaction. C-Bass has four ABS CDOs outstanding. Michael Herzig, head of global CDOs at Deutsche Bank, was traveling and did not return calls seeking comment. John Draghi, cio at C-Bass, did not return calls.

Goldman Sachs' $250 million "B" piece for Sanmina-SCI Corp. has closed oversubscribed with an extra $50 million coming in. "A number of institutional investors are throwing in 10% or more," said a banker familiar with the deal. He declined to name any investors on the facility. The loan is priced at LIBOR plus 4-41/ 4%, with a 1% original issue discount, the banker stated, adding that pricing could go towards the tight end now that the line is oversubscribed. Despite filling, final commitments on the credit are due this Wednesday. Allocations will probably be cut back, as capacity is unlikely to be increased, he said. A Goldman official declined to comment.

Caja de Ahorros de Valencia, Castellón y Alicante (Bancaja) and BankInter are both looking to price residential mortgage-backed securities before the end of the year. BankInter is structuring and lead-managing its own E710 million deal, which according a banker familiar with BankInter's plans, will be kept on-balance sheet for funding use through the repo market.

Three state pension funds are considering moves into distressed debt, joining a growing list of funds looking to appoint distressed debt managers. Illinois State Teachers Retirement System, Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund and The Florida State Board of Administration are all in various stages of reviewing potential allocations to distressed debt. The continued influx should provide a support level for distressed debt prices over the coming months. "For the second time in the last 12 years, there is a surge in investing by pension funds in distressed debt," said Gary Robertson, senior v.p. for pension fund consultants Callan Associates. "It's fairly evident from the numbers being published by Edward Altman there is a huge supply of distressed debt," he offered. He declined to comment specifically on any pension fund.

Odeon Cinemas Ltd., the largest cinema chain in the U.K. is planning to securitize cinema ticket cash flow next year, say London-based asset-backed bankers. It could not be learned if the company has mandated an investment bank to lead manage the deal. Odeon is said to be planning to raise E300 million. Repeated phone calls to an investor relations officer at Odeon's headquarters in London were not returned.

Bank of America has more than $75 million in commitments for Vanguard Health Systems' $150 million, add-on "B" term loan that back's the company's $295 million acquisition of five hospitals from Baptist Health System. Investors are keen on the credit's asset coverage, said a banker familiar with the deal, declining to name any specific investors that signed on. Moody's Investors Service rated the company's senior implied rating at B1 on account of the credit's strong security package (LMW 12/9).

Wachovia Securities added Liz Fitzpatrick as a director for its high-yield sales team, according to Jim Pierpoint, a spokesman at the Charlotte, N.C. based firm. With Fitzpatrick the HY sales team now comprises eight staffers. She will report to Gary Palmer, managing director and co-head of the high-yield desk with Tim Dowling. The position is a newly created slot. Palmer did not return calls. Fitzpatrick could not be reached to comment.